Fuzzy Set Theory: Applications in the Social Sciences - Paperback

by Michael Smithson (Author), Jay Verkuilen (Author)

Fuzzy set theory deals with sets or categories whose boundaries are blurry or, in other words, "fuzzy." This book presents an accessible introduction to fuzzy set theory, focusing on its applicability to the social sciences. Unlike most books on this topic, Fuzzy Set Theory: Applications in the Social Sciences provides a systematic, yet practical guide for researchers wishing to combine fuzzy set theory with standard statistical techniques and model-testing.

Key Features:

• Addresses Basic Concepts: Fuzzy set theory is an analytic framework for handling concepts that are simultaneously categorical and dimensional. Starting with a rationale for fuzzy sets, this book introduces readers with an elementary knowledge of statistics to the necessary concepts and techniques of fuzzy set theory and fuzzy logic.
• Introduces Novel Ways of Analyses: Researchers are shown alternative methods to conventional models, especially for testing theories that are expressed in set-wise terms. Issues of operationalizing graded membership in a fuzzy set and the measurement of the properties of such sets are a few of the topics addressed.
• Illustrates Techniques and Applications: Real examples and data-sets from various disciplines in the social sciences are used to demonstrate the connections between fuzzy sets and other data analytic techniques, empirical applications of the technique, and the critiques of fuzzy set theory.

Author Biography

MICHAEL SMITHSON is a Reader in the School of Psychology at The Australian National University in Canberra, and received his PhD from the University of Oregon. He is the author of Confidence Intervals (Sage, 2003), Statistics with Confidence (Sage, 2000), Ignorance and Uncertainty (Springer-Verlag, 1989), and Fuzzy Set Analysis for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (Springer-Verlag, 1987); and co-editor of Resolving Social Dilemmas: Dynamic, Structural, and Intergroup Aspects (Psychology Press, 1999). His primary research interests are in judgment and decision making under uncertainty, social dilemmas, applications of fuzzy set theory to the social sciences; and statistical methods for the social sciences.

JAY VERKUILEN is a Doctoral Candidate in the Quantitative Psychology Program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he also completed a PhD in Political Science. He has published papers on experimental game theory, measurement, and the development of indices for measuring democracy. In addition to various collaborations and consulting work, his current research involves applications of the generalized linear mixed model in experimental psychology, particularly in the context of two alternative forced response experiments.